Saturday, November 27, 2010

Ho-Hum!!!!!

(still lazy)

I've visited so many blogs in recent days where the hubbub of Christmas sewing is happening. So many are making holiday mug rugs, hot pads, tablerunners, placemats, quilts, wreaths, etc. No holiday sewing going on here - the laziness continues! :-(*Oh I had BIG (really BIG) plans and they look wonderful in my mind's eye but alas they remain in my mind's eye. LOL Oh, I was going to make something sweet for you, something cute for you, something adorable for you and something special for you. I guess it still could happen but.........HMMM - how tacky would it be to assign my friends a month in 2011 and send them a little something for Christmas then? I mean, seriously, can you imagine receiving a Christmas gift in June? That would definitely be tacky. Well, it was a thought - LOLWait, may be you would enjoy it - pick a month. LOL

*Every January I tell myself that I'm going to make lots of somethings for Christmas so when it's time to decorate I have all kinds of wonderful things. So, it's almost December and there's NOTHING!*If you're doing some holiday sewing I bow down to you and if you're in my camp - welcome! LOL *

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

*Today is a big day for a very special friend. We "met" via our blogs over 4 years ago and became good friends. Sadly we've never met face-to-face! :-) Please take a minute out of your busy day to stop by to wish her a happy birthday. Who is she? It's Carol at Brown Quilts 4 Me.

Happy Birthday, Carol, I hope you have a wonderful day.

And, then take a few minutes to visit Accuquilt - they're having a huge "Black Friday" sale. WooHoo!!!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

BOM Craziness

*I spent Sunday with my sewing machine :-)*First I made the October and November blocks for the Designer Mystery Block of the Month. All six blocks are assembled with cornerstones and sashing. woohoo! :-)

And I finished stitching the Snowbound blocks by Bunny Hill Designs for Kelly(red) and Terry (blue). They should have been in the mail on Monday but I've been a bit lazy. They WILL go out tomorrow. :-)

So, I'm feeling a bit smug with myself because I'm caught up. BIG Woohoo!!!!!*I hope you're having a good week. I still find it hard to believe that we're only one week away from Thanksgiving Day - sigh!*Thank you bunches & bunches for stopping by to visit. Come again soon.*

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Let's GO! Already!

*Yes, I know you've been patiently waiting for me to post my first Go! demo with my Accuquilt Go! Cutter. Are you ready to GO!*I appreciate your patience but I've been trying to think of what I could do that hasn't already been done. There have been so many excellent demos of the Go! Cutter but here I am trying to do my best. :-)

When I first started reading about the Go! Cutter I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted one. I mean, seriously, I can cut strips quickly with my ruler and rotary cutter so why would I want one? Well, I was over the moon the first time I saw someone posting a demo using their Go! to cut a template style quilt i.e. applecore, dresden plate, tumbler, etc. Then I knew it would probably be fun to own one.

One of the dies I selected when Accuquilt offered me a Go! Cutter and three dies was the dresden plate. I've wanted to make a dresden plate quilt since I started quilting over 10 years ago but the idea of cutting with a template seemed like a daunting task to me. Ugh! LOL*I've read that it's much easier to use the dies if you take time to mark the actual dies with a Sharpie. It's definitely much easier to see where to position your fabric.

I wasn't entirely sure that I knew what I was doing so I pulled some scraps to cut my first Dresden Plate. Once I feel comfortable then I'll cut out enough for lots of blocks! Keeping it simple for myself right now. :-)*Once you've positioned your fabric over the die, you lay the cutting mat on top and roll the entire die through the rollers. You have to lift the cutting mat with care with there's a ton of static cling and your pieces will fly off - simply slide your cutting mat off. :-)

Now it's time to sew - fold your blades in half and using a 1/4" seam allowance sew along the widest end chain sewing is quick and easy!

Trim corner at the fold (sadly I cropped that out of my picture - sorry). Now turn right side out, push out the corner with a point turner or pencil (that's what I used - teehee) and press.

When you sew your blades or petals together using a 1/4" seam allowance I strongly suggest that you start approx 1/4" from the folded tip end of seam - sew then reverse to the edge, then sew forward to complete your seam. This will keep the thread ends from showing.

I cut two circles using the Dresden Plate die. Attempting to use a 1/4" seam allowance I sewed them right sides together, turned them right side out and here you see that I'm trying to finish the center circle. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea - LOL*I hope my demo of the Accuquilt Go! Cutter has been helpful. :-)*I appreciate your visits - come again soon.*

Monday, November 08, 2010

Quilt Book Addiction

have ya missed me? :-)

*I think our technical difficulties have been corrected. I hope you've missed me!Just say, "YES" - LOL*Although I've been in a serious sewing holding pattern for the past three weeks (aka no sewing) it hasn't kept me from dreaming about future projects. :-)*I'm going to tell you about a few favs - just for fun.*

"Scrap Basket Surprises" designed by Kim Brackett of Magnolia Bay Quilts is a Best Seller according to Martingale - That Patchwork Place.*This is one of my all time favorite quilt books so it's time to make more projects out of it. I cut all the pieces/parts for Kitchen Sink a year ago (YES, a year ago) and it still waits. It's really time to get busy because...................(drum roll please)

*Kim's written a new book called "Scrap Basket Sensations". It promises to be as wonderful as the first one. Release date is early January.*I predict this one will be a Best Seller, as well.

*"Schnibbles Times Two" by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co - Sigh -another Best Seller. I don't have to dream about projects from this book because I've already made all the quilts - woohoo! :-)*This book is definitely a Best Seller - it was in it's 4th printing before it was six months old. WOW, WOW, WOW*It's time to start collecting Layer Cakes (10" squares) because a new book will be out late next year.*

I really enjoy ALL of Kim Diehl's books and can hardly wait to add this one to my library. This is a new release and already a Best Seller.

*Next post will be all about my Accuquilt GO! Cutter. :-) I'm having way too much fun.*Thanks for stopping by! Come again soon, please.*